The government will take initiatives for a capital dredging of rivers and for the construction of 1,000 more Mujib Kellas (specially designed multi-purpose cyclone centres) across the country.
The initiatives will be taken to tackle the devastating impact of floods that the nation has experienced in recent years, Dr Md Enamur Rahman, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief, said at a discussion on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the death toll from floods in the country rose to 127, with the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre saying that all major rivers in the north-eastern region of the country, except the Someswari, were on a falling trend.
Considering the need for better preparedness to tackle such disasters, Brac and daily Kaler Kantha organized the roundtable on “Flash floods in the northeast region: Lessons, actions and rehabilitation”, where the state minister was present as the chief guest.
Sajedul Hasan, disaster risk management program director of Brac, emphasized appropriate and continued training of volunteers associated with the government’s disaster preparedness program.
He stated that such training programs will enhance volunteers’ capacity to assist rescue workers in their work, said a press release.
Speaking on strengthening flood preparedness and rehabilitation work at different levels through implementing the lessons learned, the Brac Director further added: “The flood forecasting centre always gives warnings about the level of water in the main rivers. If similar forecasts are made at the community level, the local people can plan to move to the flood shelters. We have seen early warnings being given during cyclones; similar warnings during flash floods would help people make decisions faster.”
He also focused on the need to save food crops from damage during such disasters.
“We need to construct food storage facilities at the proper height to store crops. It would help people save their crops during disasters like floods. Union parishads can create a hotline service through which flood victims can reach out for help.”
The Brac director also urged the government to raise the height of the flood shelters, as many of them have been inundated during this year’s floods.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Captain AB Tajul Islam, during the discussion said: “Community people must be actively involved in disaster management efforts. Everyone should fulfill his or her duty from his or her own position.”
According to a joint estimate by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and Sylhet City Corporation (SCC), 1,600 kilometers of roads have been damaged in this year's floods in the Sylhet region, causing a loss to the tune of Tk2,100 crore.
According to the SCC, 186.53km of roads in the Sylhet metropolitan area have been damaged. Besides, 96.72km of drains, one km retaining wall, 60km of footpaths and 82km of water lines have been affected by floodwaters.
"Tk328 crore is needed to repair these. We've already requested the ministry concerned for the allocation of the amount," said Nur Azizur Rahman, Chief Engineer of SCC.
Mostafizur Rahman, Executive Engineer of Sylhet RHD, said roads under RHD involving Tk550 crore were destroyed by the floods.
